I RETURN TO THE COMÉDIE FRANÇAISE
My happy memories of the Odéon—I return to an old
battle-ground—A _Marquise_ who was too stout—M. Sarcey’s
account of my début—The reason I was frightened—What happened
to my mother—A strange distribution of rôles—My growing
popularity and my delight in playing jokes—Sophie Croizette
as a rival—I turn my energies to sculpture—The clash of the
“Croizettists” and the “Bernhardtists”—A fight for the
moon—Success in “Le Sphinx”—A childish freak of
temperament—_Zaïre_ triumphs—I learn something useful about
my acting 254–267